Call centers have become a ubiquitous feature of American consumerism. Working one’s way through a phone tree to get to a live “customer service representative” can in and of itself be an enormously aggravating process. Once you’re on with an actual voice, your request for support (on a product) or clarification (on a bill) or placing some sort of order may go well or may become a fiasco.
Call centers (known in consumer service circles as ‘contact centers’) are an integral part of customer service, which in turn is what guarantees repeat customers. For that reason, corporations that put them to extensive use are being provided with tools to help improve their functionality.
One of those tools is software that analyzes the vocal interaction of customer service calls. Performing a function known as ‘interaction analytics,’ this software can listen for keywords that indicate stress such as ‘cancellation’ or ‘late delivery’ or just plain ‘you’re terrible’.
Beyond that, it can analyze the emotional content of a conversation and assign algorithmic values to what is...